The Validity Of Public Apologies

The Hooters Fiasco Aftermath: Why We Should Stop Asking For Public Apologies

Sincerity is more or less impossible when it comes to public corporate apologies. Why, then, do companies continue to do it? Because the world is full of armchair social media activists, and they demand it.

Welcome to Two Sides, where AskMen pits two of our regular writers against each other to parse out what’s at stake in the day’s most controversial and buzzworthy news. Peter Hoare and Ian Lang are both great writers, but they have naturally opposing personalities. They're like oil and water. Fire and ice. Diamonds and rust. Actually, that might have been a Springsteen song or something. Point being, they like to take opposite tacks on the issues of the day. For the opposite side of this argument, check out the other take over here.

On Saturday, Hooters found itself in the midst of a minor PR fiasco: On their Facebook account, they posted an image of a young woman pointing at her crotch with legs akimbo, with the caption “Exhibit A: The proof that she was asking for it your Honour.” It was, ostensibly, a kind of “wink-wink nudge-nudge” rape joke that was, without a doubt, in extremely poor taste. Hooters took a lot of heat, removed the post and publicly apologized with the claim that their account was hacked (sure it was). Crisis averted, right?

Of course not. Elsewhere at another URL, Peter Hoare is penning some very true truths about the bullshit nature of corporate public apologies. He’s right on the money, if for no other reason than the definition of what an apology is — or is supposed to be. An apology, in its proper form, occurs between two parties when one has been handed a wrong that can’t really be made right. When you run over someone’s dog, you can’t bring the dog back. An apology is about all there is to offer. It’s the social justice version of “I visited Disneyland and all I got was this crappy T-shirt.”

That’s why public corporate apologies aren’t really apologies at all. Because rarely is anyone actually wronged and there are rarely two distinct parties (the public at large does not constitute a distinct party), so sincerity is more or less impossible. Why, then, do companies continue to do it? It’s because the world is full of armchair social media activists, and they demand it.

This needs to stop.

If you happen upon a tasteless rape joke on a company’s social media page, it’s entirely reasonable to be taken aback or even disgusted. It’s also not unreasonable to maybe send the company a message or post on their wall to let them know that you don’t appreciate it. That’s kind of where it ends, though — or, at least where it ought to. Instead, people take to twitter and Facebook, whining for retribution. They wait with baited breath for an apology that is inevitably disappointing, because there’s no way for it not to be. The company caves to the pressure and issues an apology that changes nothing — and then what? Is it over? Nope! People just immediately discredit the apology and make even more ridiculous demands:

For starters: Elizabeth Plank, are you really going to call for someone’s termination, a move far more damaging than any shitty joke could ever be, over something that you just didn’t like? Does that in any way resemble fair justice?